Strictly Come Dancing Step-By-Step Dance Class

This little book came along just in time to make a welcome Christmas Stocking filler for those who had left their shopping to the very last minute, but BBC Book's timing could have been better.

Written by Kele Baker and Ralf Schiller (of Kensington Dance Studios) this is perhaps the most accessible and best single volume book on Ballroom & Latin American dancing currently available, and anyone who has recently started to learn to dance, or who wants to start, would find its modest cost well worthwhile.

There is a short, but well thought out, introductory chapter about general principles, defining some common dance terms, and then twelve further chapters about the standard ten Ballroom & Latin styles, together with Argentine Tango and Salsa - indeed, all the dances that feature on the BBC show. Each chapter is fully illustrated with photos featuring Anton du Beke and Erin Boag in the Ballroom dances and Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova in the Latin dances, together with lots of additional shots taken from recent 'Strictly' series. For each dance, a handful of simple but typical figures are described, step-by-step (just as the title implies), and with helpful foot diagrams. The text strikes just about the right balance between being simple and clear (not too much detail), but enough to be genuinely useful and informative.

There are short comments in each chapter written by Len Goodman, and suggestions for hold and posture, suitable music and how to dress. There is a great deal of information packed into 112 pages, but everything is easy on the eye and well put together. Highly recommended. 

Book | RRP £9.99 (but typically £6.15 or less) | Available from Amazon or from your usual bookshop. | Dec-09

Anton’s Dance Class

This is quite a substantial book, running to 224 pages, but it’s a bit of a curate’s egg: good in parts. The best element is the accompanying DVD (and it would be worth the cover price, just for the DVD, despite the book’s shortcomings). On the disk, Anton du Beke is joined by Erin Boag for tuition in two ballroom dances, the Waltz and the Quickstep, and by Flavia Cacace in two Latin dances, the Cha Cha and the Jive. Anyone who has seen Anton on the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ will know that he is both a first-rate ballroom dancer, and a natural presenter, and these qualities shine through in the DVD material.

The book has real strengths too: there is a chapter covering general principles, and then one for each of the ten standard Ballroom and Latin American dances, giving descriptions of basic figures in each dance, with some general background and history of each dance. But while the book is meant to be (or at least is called) a Dance Class, there is lots missing from the text if you want to use it to teach yourself. The step-by-step descriptions say nothing about timing, or about the amounts of turn, and while there are numerous photographs to illustrate each figure, the text doesn’t really say enough about them. The book is worth having, despite these omissions, and would make a good companion to attending beginner’s class – a real one – when it would help to reinforce the tuition received. The DVD makes up for these shortcomings very well, but only covers four of the ten dances.

Recommended, with reservations: it could have been a much better book, but the DVD is good.

Book | RRP £19.99, (but typically £13.99 or less) | Available from Amazon or from your usual bookshop. | Oct-07

The Magic of Dance

This very recommendable DVD comes in two distinct parts: a series of enjoyable show dances performed by Camilla Dallerup and Ian Waite, both well-known from their appearances on the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, and a second section of tuition in six different dance styles. The show dances were filmed in a series of unusual and imaginative locations and each dance has well-matched music and costumes. The dancing, story-telling and costumes are first-rate throughout, and the production standards are very high.

It’s difficult to select favourite dances, because they’re all good, but the romance of the roof-top waltz to ‘Moon River’, the drama of the Paso to ‘Phantom of the Opera’, the Tango, danced in a smoky Gentleman’s Club to ‘Gotan Project’, and the Jive are really memorable. The other dances are a Cha Cha, Quickstep, American Smooth, Rumba, and perhaps the only slight disappointment, a Samba, danced barefoot on a beach, which nearly didn’t work!

The disk is worth having either for the show dances, or for the tuition, so to have both together is real value. The tuition section features material suitable for complete beginners in Cha Cha, Waltz, Social Foxtrot, Jive, Quickstep and Samba. There are a second group of slightly more advanced amalgamations for Cha Cha and Waltz, and many hobby dancers would enjoy trying the second Cha Cha group, in particular. Steps are described and demonstrated for man and lady, and then combined, with very clear presentation and from a variety of camera angles. Strongly recommended.

Unforgettable – David Ingley

Dancers will need no introduction to David Ingley’s music making, as he is a regular and popular player on the Midlands’ social sequence circuit. ‘Unforgettable’, his new CD release (and third on the Savoy label), offers twenty two tracks (75 minutes) of strict-tempo dance music, all in sequence, and makes a most welcome addition to the catalogue.

There is lots of variety here: two each of Quickstep/Swing, Saunter, Tango, Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Jive, Blues, Mambo, Waltz and four Rumbas. Most tracks are medleys of two songs, and the playing and sound is of a very high standard. The tempi are well chosen throughout, with the Jives taken at a sensible 36bpm.

The title track ‘Unforgettable’ (coupled with When I Fall in Love) is one of the highlights of the disk. A saunter, it is played with very attractive and musical phrasing, and lovely string-like registrations. With a completely different feel, ‘Zambesi’ makes a lively and upbeat Mambo, with plenty of Latin percussion effects. Another Latin favourite is the Rumba medley ‘You Only Live Twice / This Masquerade’, but another, ‘The Power of Love’ perhaps needed a wider variety of sounds to maintain the interest over its duration.

‘Blue Moon / Dream a Little Dream of Me’ makes a very enjoyable Blues medley, and the Waltzes are very danceable too. While there is much to enjoy here, inevitably not all the tracks are equally strong. There are two Abba medleys: one in tango rhythm and the other as a rumba, but for me, the original songs are too far removed from those styles to really work, although they are undoubtedly well played.

There is no shortage of recent recordings of sequence music, but this release stands out as being well worth its modest cost. There is a good selection of tunes, and while I would have welcomed the use of a wider range of registrations at times, this disk would be a good addition to the collection of anyone who uses recorded music for sequence dancing.

CD | RRP £13 | Available direct from Savoy Music or from David in person (at just £10) at any of his regular live performances.  Apr-10

Always & Forever - Empress Orchestra

For quite a few years, compilation albums have dominated the supply of new dance music recordings. The content of such albums has sometimes been of mixed value, with very little recorded originally by dance bands for dancers, and with much of the material readily available elsewhere, and often more cheaply. So a brand new modern recording by a leading dance orchestra is very welcome indeed.

The Empress Orchestra needs little introduction, as it plays for some of the UK’s most prestigious dance competitions in Blackpool, and elsewhere, and it is made up from some of the best players in the business, directed by composer and arranger, Ashley Frohlick. It’s first commercial CD release, ‘Always & Forever’ is very good, and highly recommendable to anyone who uses recorded music for Ballroom or Latin American dancing. There are eighteen tracks in all, and the running time is 43:25. There are two each of Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive, Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Quickstep, together with one Paso and one Viennese Waltz. Five tracks are new works, written and arranged for dancing (including the title track, ‘Always & Forever’, a waltz), and the remainder are quite well-known standards, such as the Samba ‘Quando Quando Quando’, Jives, ‘Mack the Knife’ & ‘In the Mood’, Tango ‘Por Una Cabeza’ and Quickstep, ‘Skyliner’.

The playing is first-rate, as is the sound quality. The arrangements and tempi are perfect for dancing, and while there is much to like here, personal favourites are ‘Quando Quando Quando’ and ‘In the Mood’ in the Latin section; and an original Waltz, ‘More Then You Could Know’, and Foxtrot ‘Unforgettable’ from the Ballroom section. The Cha Chas, perhaps, lack a little something – Latin percussion, mainly – and sound a little pedestrian, but this is a small criticism of a highly enjoyable and very danceable disk. Definitely one to buy!

CD | £17.50 | Available direct from DSI or from your usual supplier | Jun-09

Introduction to Sequence Dancing

Originally made for video release many years ago, this well-established series from Savoy Music has been available on DVD for some time, but is starting to show its age. There are eight volumes in the series, covering over sixty dances, but by no means all the selected dances have stood the test of time. However, the very first volume in the series is a gem: with sections dealing with ten sequence dances, nearly all of which remain popular among social dancers. The disk has an introductory section, followed by ten lessons (one for each dance), containing detailed instructions for man and lady, and ending with a demonstration of each dance by the presenters, Sue and Ted Burroughs.

The musical accompaniment perhaps sounds dated by current standards (although a companion CD remains available for all the music used), but the dance instruction is very clear and easy to follow. The dances included in Volume 1 are: Mayfair Quickstep, Waltz Cathrine, Sindy Swing, Tango Serida, Saunter Together, Iris Foxtrot, Balmoral Blues, Sally Ann Cha Cha, Rumba One and Let’s Jive. Only really the last has faded from the scene, while the others feature very regularly in most 50:50 social dance programmes, so this disk provides very relevant content for anyone new to social dancing, wanting to learn a basic repertoire of well-established favourites. Warmly recommended.

DVD | £17.50 | Available direct from Savoy Music or from your usual supplier.